Cost per install (CPI)
Mobile acquisition cost; pairs with ROAS/LTV.
- Formula
- Paid spend / installs
- Unit
- $
- Models
- Gaming, Subscription, Media
| Casual iOS | $1.41 | Liftoff 2025 |
| Casual Android | $0.14 | Liftoff 2025 |
| Casino iOS | $21 | Liftoff 2025 |
What it is
Cost per install (CPI) is paid user-acquisition spend divided by the number of app installs attributable to that spend. It is the foundational efficiency metric for mobile UA campaigns in gaming, subscription, and media apps.
How to calculate it
Divide total paid media spend in a campaign or channel by the number of installs directly attributed to that campaign or channel. Attribution methodology (last-touch vs. probabilistic vs. SKAdNetwork on iOS) can substantially shift reported CPI, so the denominator should reflect your chosen attribution model consistently.
Why it matters
CPI determines whether paid acquisition is economically viable. It must be benchmarked against downstream monetization — a $21 CPI for a casino game is only defensible if the resulting LTV justifies it. Genre and platform drive enormous variation, so comparing CPI without segmenting by genre and OS will produce misleading conclusions.
Benchmarks & pitfalls
Per Liftoff 2025 (published), casual gaming CPI averages approximately $1.41 on iOS and $0.14 on Android — a 10x platform differential. Casino/gambling apps on iOS reach approximately $21 per install, reflecting both high audience value and competitive bidding. The most common pitfall is treating CPI in isolation: a low CPI in a low-LTV genre is not necessarily better than a high CPI in a high-LTV genre. CPI should always be paired with a downstream conversion metric (day-7 retention, in-app purchase rate, or trial-start rate) to judge true efficiency.